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Urbanization political effect
American two party political system
Urbanization political effect
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The primary reason why the poor and working class can not mobilize themselves is that the effort that it takes to do so in most American cities is enormous. However, that is not to say that the burden of activism falls on the middle class or that the working class are too incompetent to mobilize each other. Rather it is the nature of society and our political system which is the biggest obstacle for them. First and foremost the very design of most American cities makes grassroots political movements very inconvienent. This is the result of very poor walkability (which city planners have said is key for municipal communities to grow and thrive) and consequentially few, if any, accessible and culturally intuitive areas to access and mobilize people. In addition to problems relating to city planning, the working class face challenges due to a political system which is set up to insulate from democracy as much as it can get away with. With two major political parties (whose ideas on the most consequential topics seem to be the same and …show more content…
If this is the case, then it is an oppressive force because it would take your political identity away from creativity and give it to your more educated neighbors. It is more attractive to me, then, to assume a different form of political socialization. Namely that all intelligent entities in an environment are agents and subjects at the same time, and that the political identity of all peoples are (if they will allow it) constantly transforming. All political feelings and actions are influenced by our interactions with authority - but also with our interaction with peers. The question then moves to can children and the elderly politically interact as peers? Or perhaps the easier question to answer is do they interact as
I will be analyzing the essay “Class in America --2012”. The topic of this essay is talking about does it matter what your social and economical standings are, and do they play a role in if you succeed in life. I personally agree with this. If someone is hard working and willing to do the job then I feel that they can be successful. Their background, race, and social and economical standings don’t justify everything that they are. Mantsios effectively communicates the phenomenon of stereotyping certain races, genders, and social classes will be more successful than others in America.
If you have ever read the book 1984 by George Orwell, then an interesting topic may have crossed your mind. The way the classes of people break down can be quite similar, and very different at times. In the United States, we have classes like the lower class, the working class, and the middle class. In 1984, there were such classes as the Proles, the Outer Party, and the Inner Party. The way the classes are broken down in 1984 reminds me a little bit of my old history class. When I studied medieval times and the classes back then were broken down into the nobles, the bourgeois, and the serfs.
... (Piven & Cloward, 18) Workers protest by striking against their employer, it is easier for employees to protest because they are all located and working together under one roof and are fighting for one thing, and that one thing is related to the workplace. While it is easier for employees to protest, it is not that easy for lower class employees to protest because they have little ability to protect themselves against their institutional managers. When the lower class workers have an informal organizational protest the government is eventually stepping in to disarm the protestors and make efforts to conciliate, “…mobs of unemployed were granted relief in the 1930s…” (Piven & Cloward, 29) The protests cause disruption and sometimes that disruption can make a change but when people are protesting blindly they are more prone to social injustice then making a change.
As countries moved from an agrarian-based economy to an industrial one, the labor force experiences new hardships. To overcome these difficulties, a common avenue is through the establishment of labor unions or political parties. Despite their poor conditions, workers sometimes fail to participate in such labor movements due to various obstacles that seemingly encourage them to accept their current state. Labor unions and Socialist parties succeeded in engaging skilled workers, while the average unskilled laborer hesitated to join the cause.
In addition, the poor are overburdened they always have been, especially in 2014. This is owing to the fact that the middle class is close to disappearing, which is forming a large gap between the poor and the rich. Furthermore, banking can be more expensive for nearly all poor people, whom are usually put in extreme circumstances where they are required to pay more taxes. And the poor are usually shut out from society and are left on the street as if they were a piece of garbage, which is why it is particularly difficult to attain a job as a poor person. Not many people in the world care for the poor. It is surprising to think that the poor had not been oppressed in 1791. Someone would think the poor have always had a heavy burden. The majority of America’s population is poor and they are ignored and portrayed as aliens whom we should have no contact with.
...d knight of labor. When they are all fighting the workers are still in bad conditions and nothing gets done. In 1895, the Supreme Court declared that the government has power from the Constitution to remover obstruction from the highway (Document H). This really tells us that the government has all the power and can replace the strikers when they get in the way. Since the government is more powerful, they have more control over the activists outweighing them all. So, because the activists are busy fighting, the government can take over and so the poor are left where they are.
The working class, faced with all the struggles that capitalism puts it through, is bound to revolt against the ruling class. During the 19th century, Marx states that “the workers begin to form combinations (Trades’ Unions) against the bourgeois; they club together in order to keep up the rate of wages; they found permanent associations in order to make provision beforehand for these occasional revolts. Here and there, the contest breaks out into riots.” Today, the working class hosts manifestations and form multiple organizations to help them through their struggles. In New York, the Occupy Wall Street movement organizes marches to demand fairer laws, such as universal health
Displacement by Gentrification is difficult to take head on because of the simple fact that it is profit driven. To get results you have to have money, that is why the Investors and Developers can develop so much in such little time. How can we address this problem that seems to be unjust to the working class? Change begins when individuals stop blaming their struggle on the opposite race and get to the
Part two, The Potential Converts, discusses what type of people would be most willing to engage in a mass movement. These people are usually very well off or very poor. There do not seem to be many sections pertaining to the middle class. When discussing the poor, the author makes it a point to show that just because a person is poor, it does not necessarily mean that they are unhappy. "Poverty when coupled with creativeness is usually free of frustration." (Page 34) A main argument brought up within the confines of this section is that social status alone is usually not enough to press people for a mass movement. The author tells that poor people who have strong family ties are less likely to revolt. It takes a general discontent, coupled with ...
In grade school, we were taught to listen and behave; learn and memorize what was in the text books. In high school we started learning to be more independent in our studies, rather than relying on a teacher who still helped and taught, but not like we had in grade school. In college, we are taught to analyze and critically think independently but still had the help we needed from the professor. With teachers being there, guiding us through every step, why does the teacher get the blame for when students fail. A students’ education comes down to selfishness, social class, and consumerism; not on the teacher who is there to help us in ways they are allowed. How can we better
Social and economic class is something we as Americans like to push into the back of our minds. Sometimes recognizing our class either socially or economically can almost be crippling. When individuals recognize class, limitations and judgment confront us. Instead, we should know it is important to recognize our class, but not let it define and limit us. In the essay, “Class in America”, Gregory Mantsios, founder and director of the Joseph S. Murphy Institute for Worker Education at the School of Professional Studies, brings to light the fact that Americans don’t talk about class and class mobility. He describes the classes in extremes, mainly focusing on the very sharp divide between the extremely wealthy and extremely poor. In contrast, George
Becoming an adult is signified differently in every culture, in America, reaching middle class status is one way that is used to indicate adulthood. To obtain middle class status one would need to acquire a job, become financially stable, get a house, and have a family. The “Mood Economy”, self-reliance, and distrust in institutions, as stated in Silva’s Coming Up Short, have reshaped what it means to become an adult. Replacing the traditional white picket fence ideals with new neoliberal ones. Although middle class status is still a goal for a lot of individuals, the number of people who reach middle class status has diminished significantly over the years. By examining the new milestones that mark adulthood and evaluating how the state reproduces little social mobility through “Attacking Solidarity” mentioned in Requiem for the American Dream, we can get a better idea of how the middle class disappeared before us.
The historical context of inequality in the United States can be can be traced back to the American South and the times of the Civil War. The slave trade, Emancipation Proclamation and 13th Amendment largely contribute to the inequality presented of the African American population.
Middle class Americans represent more than half of the United States’ population. They are the backbone of U.S. economics, and have been since the very beginning of the country’s history. However, an unstable job market, created by outsourcing, combined with a minimum wage which has not been raised since 1989, is gradually shrinking this economic group. To avoid the extinction of this critical class, the next president of the United States will have to go to extraordinary measures. Without major reformation, the middle class will continue to be absorbed by the lower class, ultimately resulting in the complete loss of one of America’s most important socio-economic bodies.
In Writing Project 3, I was expected to write an argumentative essay addressing the topic of social inequality in the United States and what needs to change in order to create a less divisive society. I needed to write a two-page proposal about my social discourse and provide an analysis that focuses on why I choose the topic and how does it demonstrate inequality in this country. Then, I was expected to write a 7-8 page argumentative essay about the positions of others on the issue and understanding from their perspectives, while being able to contribute my viewpoint. The genre that I approached was gender inequality within sports that is caused by the media. I chose this topic because my English teacher in High School showed my class a documentary of female athletes being objectified in sports unlike male athletes, so I wanted to learn more about this issue and why were women being treated differently than man in the same profession.